World Bank
Bangladesh, World Bank sign $120 mn financing deal to support food security
The government of Bangladesh and the World Bank have signed a $120 million financing agreement to help improve the irrigated agricultural and fisheries production and increase the incomes of 170,000 poor people vulnerable to climate change.The Climate-Smart Agriculture and Water Management Project will improve climate resilience by modernizing flood management, drainage and irrigation infrastructures.
The project will help with climate resilient and improved irrigation, flood management and drainage service covering 120,000 hectares of land, which will reduce damage to crops from floods by 60 percent, said the global lending agency on Thursday.“Bangladesh’s success is well-rooted in the agriculture sector. With a large population and scarce arable land, it is a major accomplishment for the country to achieve its level of food production today. But the climate change and increased natural disasters pose threat to food security,” said Dandan Chen, Acting World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Also read: World Bank keen on investing in rural development: LGRD Minister
“The project will help Bangladesh sustain food security by protecting crops and fisheries through better flood management, irrigation and drainage systems with active participation of local communities, and with particular emphasis on regulating the excess water during the monsoon and water deficits in the post-monsoon.”The project has identified 19 Flood management, Irrigation and Drainage schemes in poor and climate change vulnerable areas for rehabilitation.
It will also provide training to 100,000 farmers on climate-smart agricultural technologies, diversification of crops, and post-harvest management.
The project will also support conservation of indigenous species and improving disease control and management.It will also support rice and fish/shrimp farming through setting up of cold storage facilities and improvement of local markets.
This will improve the productivity of fisheries by almost 37 percent, vegetables by 10 percent and rice by 7.5 percent.The agreement was signed by Fatima Yasmin, Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Government of Bangladesh and Dandan Chen on behalf of the Government and the World Bank, respectively.The credit is from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), and has a 35-year term, including a five-year grace period.
Also read: World Bank presents its areas of interest for future projects in Bangladesh
Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA program totaling $14.8 billion.
The World Bank was among the first development partners to support Bangladesh and has committed more than $35 billion in grants, interest-free and concessional credits to the country since its Independence.
WB approves $120 mln loan to develop climate smart agriculture, water management
The International Development Association (IDA), a concern of the World Bank, will provide USD $ 120 million for development of 'climate smart agriculture and water management project.’
Bangladesh and the World Bank on Tuesday signed a loan agreement in this regard held at the Economic Relations Division (ERD), a wing of the Ministry of Finance.
Read: World Bank keen on investing in rural development: LGRD Minister
Fatima Yasmin, Secretary, ERD Dandan Chen, acting country director of the World Bank, Dhaka Office signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.
The project will be implemented jointly by Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) under Ministry of Water Resources, Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) under Ministry of Agriculture and Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.
The project is likely to end in June, 2026.
Of the total loan amount, $100 million will be provided to BWDB and $ 10 million to the DAE and the DoF each.
The WB will provide the loan from IDA19 Scale-Up Window (SUW).The financing will have a maturity of 35 years, including a 5-year grace period, said a handout.
The purpose of the loan is to rehabilitate and modernize Flood Control Drainage (FCD) and Flood Control Drainage Irrigation (FCDI) infrastructure for climate-resilient water resources management.
Read:World Bank presents its areas of interest for future projects in Bangladesh
Moreover, the project will enhance agricultural productivity and around 50 percent irrigation water will be saved in the crop field through at least 12 climate smart technologies in the project area and increase 20 percent of fish production and productivity by introducing climate smart aquaculture technology.
The WB has been providing development assistance to Bangladesh in many important sectors including health & education, energy sector, inland connectivity & logistics, eegional & global integration, urbanization and adaptive delta management sector since after having membership in 1972.
World Bank keen on investing in rural development: LGRD Minister
The World Bank has expressed interest in providing USD 5-8 billion dollars in the development of rural infrastructure in Bangladesh, said Local Government and Rural Development Minister Md Tajul Islam on Tuesday.
He was talking to reporters emerging from a meeting with a World Bank delegation at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
Read: World Bank presents its areas of interest for future projects in Bangladesh
Tajul said that Bangladesh needs foreign funding in implementation of “My Village, My City” project and building of roads, bridges and culverts.
'My Village My City’ is a coordinated project that seeks to develop urban facilities for the rural people. Roads, bridges, culverts, sanitation system and supply of safe water are major components of the project, he said.
Read: World Bank approves $295 million to enhance Bangladesh’s digital economy
The bank is interested in financing in rural development programmes, the minister said.
He said the delegation also showed interest in providing financial assistance for building rehabilitation centres in cyclone-prone coastal areas.
World Bank presents its areas of interest for future projects in Bangladesh
The World Bank is keen to work with Bangladesh in areas like energy security, energy efficiency, a regional power market that Dhaka is very interested in, energy exchange and policy reforms.
The multilateral financing agency made the proposal when its regional director Guangzhe Chen met State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid at his office in the ministry on Sunday.
According to the ministry's press release, the World Bank also expressed its interest to modernise the gas pipeline network and install pre-paid gas metres.
Also read: World Bank praises Bangladesh for anti-poverty social schemes
Welcoming Guangzhe Chen, Nasrul Hamid said the World Bank might be one of the development partners, but it takes a long time to implement projects. “The World Bank should be careful about the timing,” he said.
He mentioned that the energy demand is growing day by day in the country. The World Bank can work with Bangladesh to increase the use of clean energy.
He said that Bangladesh has been working to introduce modern technology and digitalisation.
“Electric vehicles should be used in a massive way. The World Bank can work on policy reform to achieve energy efficiency”, he said adding Bangladesh needs some efficient consultants where the World Bank can work.
At present, 5 projects are being implemented with the finance of the World Bank while discussions are in progress for some more new projects in the country’s power and energy sector.
Expansion of transmission lines, improvement in voltage and power factor, increasing energy efficiency and enhancing the stake of clean energy are the areas the World Bank has scope to work on, said a ministry release.
Also read: World Bank approves more than $700 in emergency support for Ukraine
World Bank operation advisor Gisu Mohadjar, senior operation officer Barbara Weber, programme leader Rajesh Rohatgi and senior energy specialist Mohammad Anis were present during the meeting with the state minister.
World Bank approves more than $700 in emergency support for Ukraine
The World Bank says it has approved more than $700 in emergency support for Ukraine.
Dubbed FREE Ukraine, it includes nearly $500 million in loans and guarantees and $134 million in grants, with Japan promising another $100 million in financing. The aid is meant to help the Ukrainian government pay wages of hospital workers, pensions and other social programs. Bundling the aid into a package is intended to streamline and speed the provision of the funding, the World Bank said in a statement.
Also read: World Bank approves $295 million to enhance Bangladesh’s digital economy
“The World Bank Group stands with the people of Ukraine and the region,” World Bank President David Malpass said. “This is the first of many steps we are taking to help address the far-reaching human and economic impacts of this crisis.”
The World Bank also said it is preparing a $3 billion package of support for Ukraine and the region to help it cope with the flood of displaced people fleeing the fighting.
Also read: World Bank announces US$ 93 billion support for poor countries
WB approves $300 million to help Bangladesh bolster its urban bodies
The World Bank has approved $300 million to help Bangladesh strengthen its urban local government institutions to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and improve preparedness to future shocks, benefitting about 40 million urban residents.
The Local Government Covid-19 Response and Recovery Project will support urban local government institutions to effectively respond to and recover from the pandemic, the World Bank said in a release on Friday.
Some 329 municipalities and 10 city corporations will have the provision to receive funds bi-annually from the project to improve critical urban services delivery of facilities and infrastructure, local economic recovery, and preparedness to climate impacts, disaster and future disease outbreak.
READ: 'WB committed to Bangladesh's resilient and inclusive recovery from Covid'
The project will support labour intensive public works to restore the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people, mostly working in the informal sector who were most affected by the Covid restrictions and lockdowns.
Aided by the funding from the project, the eligible urban local bodies will install community hand-washing stations and toilets, and improve sanitisation in municipality-owned or operated markets, burial grounds, and public offices.
The project will help the residents have better access to municipality-operated health clinics and facilitate vaccine registrations for disadvantaged people, and conduct awareness programs on Covid-safety protocols, vaccines, and climate risks.
It will create 1.5 million days of temporary work as well as employment for 10,000 women under the public work scheme, the World Bank said.
The project will also help the local government institutions to improve preparedness to climate impacts, disaster, and future disease outbreak.
The project will help strengthen local institutions through training, technical support, and set up a web-based platform for better coordination and exchange of information during emergencies. It will be implemented in in all eight divisions -- Barishal, Chattogram, Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Sylhet.
Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said that the pandemic had hit hard the poor people in urban areas, caused income losses and disrupted basic service delivery.
“But the city corporations and the municipalities can play a critical role in helping the urban poor recover from the pandemic as well as get cities prepared to handle future shocks,” she said.
She also said that the project will help the cities and towns to build back better as they recover from the pandemic and prepare for future shocks, including climate change, disasters, and disease outbreaks.
Shenhua Wang, World Bank Senior Urban Development Specialist and Task Team Leader for the Project, said that the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed the number of urban poor up to 27 million.
READ: WB to provide $500 mln for mordernising electricity distribution system in Bangladesh
"The project will carry out labour-intensive public works and operations and maintenance schemes that in one hand will ensure water supply and sanitation, drainage, and other critical services reach low-income areas, slums, and areas exposed to high disease outbreak and disaster risks and in other hand create jobs for the poor urban people.”
Shares of Facebook parent Meta plunge 22% on lower profits
Newly-renamed Meta is investing heavily in its futuristic “metaverse” project, but for now, relies on advertising revenue for nearly all its income. So when it posted sharply higher costs but gave a weak revenue forecast late Wednesday, investors got spooked — and knocked almost $200 billion off the valuation of the company formerly known as Facebook.
Meta’s shares fell 22.6% to $249.90 in after-hours trading. If the drop holds until the market opens Thursday, the company’s overall value, known as its market capitalization, is on track to drop by a figure greater than the size of the entire Greek economy, based on data from the World Bank.
Read:Meta’s campaigns strengthened Bangladesh govt’s COVID response
The metaverse is sort of the internet brought to life, or at least rendered in 3D. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described it as a “virtual environment” in which you can immerse yourself instead of just staring at a screen. Theoretically, the metaverse would be a place where people can meet, work and play using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps or other devices.
But building it is not likely to be cheap.
Meta invested more than $10 billion in its Reality Labs segment — which includes its virtual reality headsets and augmented reality technology — in 2021, contributing to the quarter’s profit decline. It expanded its workforce by 23%, ending the year with 71,970 employees, mostly in technical roles.
Read Plenty of pitfalls await Zuckerberg’s ‘metaverse’ plan
The company also said revenue in the current quarter is likely to come in below market expectations, due in part to growing competition from TikTok and other rival platforms vying for people’s attention. Sheryl Sandberg, Meta’s chief operating officer, said in a conference call with analysts that global supply chain issues, labor shortages and earlier-than-usual holiday spending by advertisers put pressure on the company’s advertising sales.
Another problem: Recent privacy changes by Apple make it harder for companies like Meta to track people for advertising purposes, which also puts pressure on the company’s revenue. For months now, Meta has been warning investors that its revenue can’t continue to grow at the breakneck pace they are accustomed to.
Read In the middle of a crisis, Facebook Inc. renames itself Meta
“It is time for a reality check on Meta’s position for the metaverse,” said Raj Shah, an analyst at the digital consulting firm Publicis Sapient. “The metaverse is a long way from being profitable or filling the gap in ad revenue after Apple’s policy change.”
People’s changing online behavior is also limiting Meta’s money-making abilities. More people are watching video, such as Instagram’s Reels (a TikTok clone), and this makes less money than more established features.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company said it earned $10.29 billion, or $3.67 per share, in the final three months of 2021. That’s down 8% from $11.22 billion, or $3.88 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose to 20% to $33.67 billion.
Read What the metaverse is and how it will work
Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $3.85 per share on revenue of $33.36 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.
Meta Platforms Inc. took on its new name last fall to emphasize Zuckerberg’s new focus on the metaverse. Since then, the company has been shifting resources and hiring engineers — including from competitors like Apple and Google — who can help realize his vision.
Zuckerberg is betting that the metaverse will be the next generation of the internet because he thinks it’s going to be a big part of the digital economy. He expects people to start seeing Meta as a “metaverse company” in the coming years, rather than a social media company.
Read:Plenty of pitfalls await Zuckerberg’s ‘metaverse’ plan
For now, though, the metaverse exists only as an amorphous idea envisioned — and named — by the science fiction author Neal Stephenson three decades ago. It’s not yet clear if it’ll be the next iteration of human-computer interaction the way Zuckerberg sees it, or just another playground for techies and gamers.
This could be spooking investors, who tend to prefer immediate, or at least quick, results on investments.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty about Meta’s investments in the metaverse and if or when they will have a positive impact on the company’s bottom line,” said Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst with Insider Intelligence.
Read How Do Social Media Influencers Make Money?
“While we expect Meta to ramp up testing ads and commerce within its metaverse offerings this year, those efforts will be highly experimental and not likely to drive much revenue in the near term,” she added.
Meta said it expects revenue between $27 billion and $29 billion for the current quarter, below the $30.2 billion analysts are forecasting.
Bangladesh’s economy to grow by 6.4% in 2021-22 FY: WB
The Bangladesh economy is expected to grow by 6.4 percent in the current 2021-22 fiscal year while 6.9 percent in the 2022-23 fiscal, the World Bank projected.
The World Bank made the projection in its 'Global Economic Prospects' report.
As per the World Bank estimate, the GDP growth was 5 percent in the last 2020-21 fiscal.
The World Bank report said South Asia’s economy rebounded in the second half of the year following a massive second wave of Covid-19 in mid-2021. “An improvement in domestic demand and resumption of exports contributed to strong growth in Bangladesh,” it says.
Bangladesh’s GDP is expected to reach 6.4 percent in FY2021/22 ending June 2022, and 6.9 percent in FY2022/23, due to growing services activity and firming exports of readymade garments.
The consumer inflation in major economies of the region has been above central banks’ targets since late 2019.
The World Bank report says the pandemic, and the emergence of the Omicron variant, could hinder economic activity by requiring additional mobility restrictions and undermining external demand.
Read: Govt targets 17% expenditure of GDP for next two fiscals: Document
It adds that risks to the outlook remain to the downside, while another risk stems from financing conditions.
Further upward price pressures may cause inflation expectations to become unanchored, worsening domestic financing conditions, eroding real incomes, and weakening the financial sector.
Climate risks are becoming more prevalent in South Asia as cyclones, floods, and droughts have become more frequent and as the costs of such events have increased.
The region is one of the most vulnerable to climate-induced increases in poverty, disease, child mortality and food prices.
The report states that the growth prospects have improved since June 2021, largely because of better prospects in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.
Read: Rebased GDP now official in national accounting
Regional growth is expected to accelerate to 7.6 percent in 2022 as pandemic-related disruptions fade, before slowing to 6.0 percent in 2023.
In most economies, monetary and fiscal policy are expected to remain broadly accommodative in 2022, but gradually shift to a focus on fiscal sustainability and anchoring inflation expectations.
Despite the upward revision to growth, output in 2023 is still projected to be almost 8 percent lower than projected before the pandemic.
Additionally, the pace of per capita income catch-up with advanced economies is expected to slow over the forecast horizon.
In the subregion excluding India, the report said, growth momentum will pick up over the forecast horizon and is expected to expand by 4.4 percent in fiscal year 2021/22.
According to the World Bank press release, following a strong rebound in 2021, the global economy is entering a pronounced slowdown amid fresh threats from COVID-19 variants and a rise in inflation, debt, and income inequality that could endanger the recovery in emerging and developing economies.
Global growth is expected to decelerate markedly from 5.5 percent in 2021 to 4.1 percent in 2022 and 3.2 percent in 2023 as pent-up demand dissipates and as fiscal and monetary support is unwound across the world.
The rapid spread of the Omicron variant indicates that the pandemic will likely continue to disrupt economic activity in the near term.
In addition, a notable deceleration in major economies—including the United States and China—will weigh on external demand in emerging and developing economies.
At a time when governments in many developing economies lack the policy space to support activity if needed, new COVID-19 outbreaks, persistent supply-chain bottlenecks and inflationary pressures, and elevated financial vulnerabilities in large swaths of the world could increase the risk of a hard landing.
World Bank Group President David Malpass said the global economy is simultaneously facing Covid-19, inflation, and policy uncertainty, with government spending and monetary policies in uncharted territory.
“Rising inequality and security challenges are particularly harmful for developing countries. Putting more countries on a favorable growth path requires concerted international action and a comprehensive set of national policy responses.”
The slowdown will coincide with a widening divergence in growth rates between advanced economies and emerging and developing economies.
Growth in advanced economies is expected to decline from 5 percent in 2021 to 3.8 percent in 2022 and 2.3 percent in 2023—a pace that, while moderating, will be sufficient to restore output and investment to their pre-pandemic trend in these economies.
In emerging and developing economies, however, growth is expected to drop from 6.3 percent in 2021 to 4.6 percent in 2022 and 4.4 percent in 2023. By 2023, all advanced economies will have achieved a full output recovery; yet output in emerging and developing economies will remain 4 percent below its pre-pandemic trend.
For many vulnerable economies, the setback is even larger: output of fragile and conflict-affected economies will be 7.5 percent below its pre-pandemic trend, and output of small island states will be 8.5 percent below.
Meanwhile, rising inflation—which hits low-income workers particularly hard—is constraining monetary policy.
Globally and in advanced economies, inflation is running at the highest rates since 2008.
In emerging markets and developing economies, it has reached its highest rate since 2011.
Many emerging and developing economies are withdrawing policy support to contain inflationary pressures—well before the recovery is complete.
World Bank approves $295 million to enhance Bangladesh’s digital economy
The International Development Association (IDA), a concern of the World Bank, will extend USD $ 295 million Scale Up Facility (SUF) loan to Bangladesh for enhancing digital government & economy (EDGE) projects. The project will be implemented by Bangladesh Computer Council under ICT Division. The implementation period of this project has been fixed from January 01, 2022 to December 31, 2026.
Read: Urban plastic consumption triples in 15 years: World Bank The objectives of this project are to improve cyber security, build resiliency during future crises, and will enable the government to operate virtually to deliver critical public services to citizens and businesses. The project will also work to reduce vulnerabilities from the pandemic and prepare for the fourth industrial revolution. The project will also help to digitize small and medium enterprises and strategic industries and to establish a Digital Leadership Academy to create opportunities for research and development.
Read: World Bank announces US$ 93 billion support for poor countries A deal in this regard was signed on Sunday. Fatima Yasmin, ERD secretary, and Mercy Miyang Tembon, country director, World Bank, signed the financing agreement on behalf of their respective sides. The loan is to be repaid in 34 years with a grace period of 04 years. The frontend fee is 0.25 per cent, the commitment charge is 0.25 per cent and the interest charge is URIBOR+0.98 per cent. The EURIBOR is short for Euro Interbank Offered Rate.
WB to provide $500 mln for mordernising electricity distribution system in Bangladesh
The World Bank on Tuesday approved $500 million to help Bangladesh expand and modernise the electricity distribution system and support the sustainable transformation of its electricity system.The Electricity Distribution Modernisation Program will deliver improved electricity services to about 40 million people in Dhaka and Mymensingh Divisions, according to a release from the World Bank.It will upgrade and construct more than 31,000 kms of distribution lines, 157 distribution substations, and related infrastructure, and incorporate measures to increase climate resilience of network infrastructure in 25 rural electric cooperatives (Palli Bidyut Samities) in the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board.
Read: 'WB committed to Bangladesh's resilient and inclusive recovery from Covid'Network investment will be paired with new and advanced technologies to help modernising and transforming the electricity system.World Bank Acting Country Director for Bangladesh Dandan Chen said in the last decade, Bangladesh achieved a more than fourfold increase in electricity generation capacity and delivered electricity connections to more than 99 percent of its population.“But the electricity distribution network could not keep pace with the remarkable increase in electricity generation,” he said.“This program will help modernize and ensure climate resilience of the distribution network, which is the backbone of a secure and reliable power system.”The program will introduce a modern grid system that can support the two-way flow of electricity and information, minimizing and recovering quickly from climate and cyber risks, including natural disasters and extreme weather events.It will introduce state-of-art technologies such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System and install Advanced Metering Infrastructure.It will support the decarbonization of the power sector by facilitating the integration of renewable energy and Battery Energy Storage Systems in the electricity distribution network.All these will lead to a sustainable transformation of the electricity system.
Read: Bangladesh's economy doing better to recover from Covid-19 shocks: WB Vice PresidentThe credit is from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), which provides concessional financing, has a 30-year term, including a five-year grace period. In addition, the program also includes a $15 million grant from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).Including this program, the World Bank has over $1.8 billion ongoing support in Bangladesh’s energy sector, covering generation, transmission, and distribution of power, including from renewable energy sources.Since 1981, the World Bank has partnered with BREB to support the government’s electrification and access programs.Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA program totaling over $14 billion in support.The World Bank was among the first development partners to support Bangladesh and has committed more than $35 billion in grants, interest-free and concessional credits to the country since its Independence.